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Women plotted grisly axe murder: prosecutor

Two young women charged in connection with the brutal axe murder of 23-year-old Hans Rickard Strømner deliberated for around a week before deciding how to kill him, a prosecutor has said.

Women plotted grisly axe murder: prosecutor
Krister Sørbø/Scanpix

Strømmer’s body was found by two girls behind a shed in Oslo’s Klemetsrud district in October, having lain there since the summer.

His 21-year-old ex-girlfriend is charged with having attacked Strømner’s upper body with an axe as he lay in bed at her home in nearby Rustadsaga.

Her 22-year-old friend is accused of having helped her to dispose of the body by rolling it in a plastic covering and hiding it near an animal shelter in Klemetsrud.

“The two girlfriends charged with premeditated murder have now admitted they were present when it was carried out and that they planned it for around a week,” prosecutor Kristin Rusdal told newspaper VG.

A text message to a friend on July 9th was the last sign of life from Strømmer.

A ward of the state from the age of five until he turned 23, friends described him as a meek individual who shunned large crowds and occasionally suffered from substance dependency, VG reported in October.

He had told close friends he felt under threat from people he knew and was concerned for his safety.

Police have not released any details about a possible motive for the killing.

The two friends at the centre of the case had considered poisoning Strømner before choosing to use an axe, according to the prosecutor.

Police have also charged a man with helping the two women to chop up the bed in which Strømner was killed. The suspect is believed to have known where the body was hidden.

A third woman has also been charged for failing to inform the authorities of the murder despite knowing about it long before the body was found. All the while, Strømner’s family and friends conducted extensive searches.  

Both the most recent suspects had previously been questioned by police but denied any knowledge of the crime.

The case is not expected to go to trial until this summer at the earliest, VG said.

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RENTING

Rental prices in Norway’s biggest cities continue to rise

The cost of renting in Norway's four largest cities rose overall during the third quarter, with prices up six percent this year, figures from Real Estate Norway show. 

Rental prices in Norway's biggest cities continue to rise

A sharp increase in rent prices in Norway continued throughout the third quarter, figures from Real Estate Norway (Eiendom Norge) released on Tuesday show. 

“Real Estate Norway’s rental housing price statistics show a historically strong rise in rental housing prices in Norway in the third quarter,” Henning Lauridsen, CEO of Real Estate Norway, stated in a report on the latest figures. 

Growth was most robust in Stavanger and Oslo, according to Real Estate Norway. 

“The strong growth in rental prices we have seen in the wake of the pandemic continued in the third quarter, and it is particularly in the Stavanger region and in Oslo that the growth in rental prices is strong,” Lauridsen said. 

Stavanger and nearby Sandnes saw the largest price increases, with the cost of renting there increasing by 4.7 percent during the third quarter. During the same period, rents in Oslo increased by 2.5 percent, while a marginal 0.3 percent rise was recorded in Trondheim. 

While the cost of renting in Norway’s four largest cities overall increased by 2 percent, rental prices in Bergen declined. There, rents fell by 2.5 percent in the third quarter.

Lauridsen said that the increase in rental prices was likely to continue due to several factors. High inflation, interest rates, increased taxes on rental properties and a low supply of homes on the market all contributed to increasing rents. 

However, he did note that the supply of rental homes on the market had increased in Trondheim and Oslo since the summer. 

Lauridsen said that the least well-off financially were being hit hardest by rent rises. Previously, the Norwegian government has informed The Local that it will not introduce a temporary cap on rent increases. 

READ MORE: Norway’s government rules out a temporary rent cap

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